And the answer is:
Liberal candidate for the provincial riding of Thornhill..
Bernie Farber
EYE ON A CRAZY PLANET
Showing posts with label Peter Shurman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peter Shurman. Show all posts
Monday, May 9, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Canadian politicians denounce "self-loathing hatemongers" of the Israeli and now 'Canadian Apartheid' movement
Radical activist Judy Rebick, whose raison d’etre seems to be to have something, anything to shout into a megaphone about, implicitly admitted the dishonesty of anti-Israel activists’ agenda at an “Israeli Apartheid Week” meeting on March 7 of this year. She confessed that use of the term “Israeli Apartheid” is a propaganda tool.
“There’s the brilliance, the propaganda brilliance of calling it Israeli Apartheid Week,” she gleefully asserted, “every time these people, you know, put a motion through parliament or through the legislature..they have to say Israel’s not an apartheid state ..and so over time, it really is a brilliant propaganda tactic because each time it becomes more familiar.”
What Rebick seems not to have understood is that her stand has become familiar as one of deceitful propaganda. But that distinction hasn't been lost on Canadian parliamentarians who denounced the “Israeli Apartheid” movement in the strongest terms yet following the declaration by Canadian "Israeli Apartheid Week" organizers that Canada is an 'apartheid' state.
At the same anti-Israel event at the University of Toronto where Rebick spoke, the Israeli Apartheid Week organizers issued a statement saying that:
"These people, if they're Canadians, are either self-loathing, ignorant, or very poorly informed. Successive Canadian governments have spent tens of billions of dollars to improve the lives of our First Nations peoples, who enjoy the same rights, opportunities and privileges as all Canadian citizens. By saying that contemporary Canada practices apartheid, the so-called Israeli Apartheid Movement betrays itself as being made up of intellectually dishonest hate-mongers."
The Liberal Party's Critic for Democratic Renewal, St. Paul's MP Carolyn Bennett, offered the following: "Use of the word "apartheid" is inflammatory and inaccurate and works against any meaningful conversation on the peace process in the middle east or the plight of our aboriginal peoples here in Canada ." She also made reference to Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff's recent statement about 'Israeli Apartheid Week' which describes it as "a dangerous cocktail of ignorance and intolerance."
Canada is one of Israel's closest allies and that support has made them frequent scapegoats of the anti-Israel movement, which now appears anxious to vilify Canadian policy as well. These sentiments are regularly expressed on the website rabble.ca, which is the media sponsor of "Israeli Apartheid Week." Rabble was founded by Judy Rebick and is published by Kim Elliott, who is the spouse of the same NDP Deputy Leader Libby Davies who in June 2010 expressed support for the boycott, sanctions and divestment campaign against Israel. The anti-Israel activists' ‘Canadian apartheid’ statement was foreshadowed by Rebick who, in defending Ms Davies, said "I don't think the establishment of the state of Canada is just."
Olivia Chow, the NDP MP for Trinity Spadina, the downtown Toronto riding which includes The University of Toronto campus where the "Canadian Apartheid" statement was made, has not responded to requests to comment for this article.
However, Ontario Provincial legislators were not shy in their condemnation. The response of Steve Clark, the Progressive Conservative Critic for Citizenship and Immigration was concise, saying "It's unbelievable to see that level of ignorance."
The representative for Ontario provincial riding of Thornhill, Peter Shurman, expressed disgust at the accusation of 'Canadian Apartheid.' "Idiots" was how he described the Israeli Apartheid Week organizers, adding "and you can quote me on that!"
Mr. Shurman, who last year was a co-sponsor of a unanimously adopted motion in the Ontario Legislature denouncing Israeli Apartheid Week, continued: "Canada and Israel have shared democratic values. Neither country is perfect, just as no country in the world is, and people of good conscience are working to improve conditions in democratic countries every day. But to describe these two countries that place democracy as their highest value as 'apartheid' is beyond absurd. Apartheid describes a racist legal system of enforced racial separation and discrimination that existed in South Africa until 1993. No rational person could possibly say that ‘apartheid’ in any way describes either Canada or Israel in 2011. These fanatics have revealed themselves to be not just bigoted against Israel but opposed to basic Canadian democratic values too."
'Canadian Apartheid' proponent Alan Sears, a Sociology professor at Ryerson University, provided some revealing insight in a recent interview where he suggested the movement to delegitimize Israel is the first step in a broader campaign to combat capitalism. He said he supports "targeting..capitalism at (its) deepest..the question is how do we get there?.. The way that struggles begin to start is with specific targets that are achievable and then ..the movement can get broader."
As a champion of Canada's relationship with Israel, Environment Minister Kent's constituency office has been the target of demonstrations by anti-Israel groups. He has praise for the people who are working towards peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but was adamant that groups and individuals seeking to falsely label Israel as an apartheid state do not fall into that category.
Of the latter, Mr. Kent's condemnation was unequivocal, "They're making absolutely no contribution to the peace process in the mid-east and are clearly operating on a selective, hateful agenda; peace between Israel and the Palestinians is obviously not on that agenda."
“There’s the brilliance, the propaganda brilliance of calling it Israeli Apartheid Week,” she gleefully asserted, “every time these people, you know, put a motion through parliament or through the legislature..they have to say Israel’s not an apartheid state ..and so over time, it really is a brilliant propaganda tactic because each time it becomes more familiar.”
What Rebick seems not to have understood is that her stand has become familiar as one of deceitful propaganda. But that distinction hasn't been lost on Canadian parliamentarians who denounced the “Israeli Apartheid” movement in the strongest terms yet following the declaration by Canadian "Israeli Apartheid Week" organizers that Canada is an 'apartheid' state.
At the same anti-Israel event at the University of Toronto where Rebick spoke, the Israeli Apartheid Week organizers issued a statement saying that:
" In crucial ways, the Canadian state's treatment of indigenous peoples, historically and currently, can be described as an apartheid system. .. As non-natives, we have a role within our communities to further the process of decolonizing Canada. If you are with us in opposition to Israeli Apartheid, we encourage your consistent opposition to apartheid right here in Canada."Peter Kent, Canada's federal Minister of the Environment, didn't mince his words when describing the "Israeli Apartheid Week" organizers' statement and the ideology that drives them.
"These people, if they're Canadians, are either self-loathing, ignorant, or very poorly informed. Successive Canadian governments have spent tens of billions of dollars to improve the lives of our First Nations peoples, who enjoy the same rights, opportunities and privileges as all Canadian citizens. By saying that contemporary Canada practices apartheid, the so-called Israeli Apartheid Movement betrays itself as being made up of intellectually dishonest hate-mongers."
The Liberal Party's Critic for Democratic Renewal, St. Paul's MP Carolyn Bennett, offered the following: "Use of the word "apartheid" is inflammatory and inaccurate and works against any meaningful conversation on the peace process in the middle east or the plight of our aboriginal peoples here in Canada ." She also made reference to Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff's recent statement about 'Israeli Apartheid Week' which describes it as "a dangerous cocktail of ignorance and intolerance."
Canada is one of Israel's closest allies and that support has made them frequent scapegoats of the anti-Israel movement, which now appears anxious to vilify Canadian policy as well. These sentiments are regularly expressed on the website rabble.ca, which is the media sponsor of "Israeli Apartheid Week." Rabble was founded by Judy Rebick and is published by Kim Elliott, who is the spouse of the same NDP Deputy Leader Libby Davies who in June 2010 expressed support for the boycott, sanctions and divestment campaign against Israel. The anti-Israel activists' ‘Canadian apartheid’ statement was foreshadowed by Rebick who, in defending Ms Davies, said "I don't think the establishment of the state of Canada is just."
Olivia Chow, the NDP MP for Trinity Spadina, the downtown Toronto riding which includes The University of Toronto campus where the "Canadian Apartheid" statement was made, has not responded to requests to comment for this article.
However, Ontario Provincial legislators were not shy in their condemnation. The response of Steve Clark, the Progressive Conservative Critic for Citizenship and Immigration was concise, saying "It's unbelievable to see that level of ignorance."
The representative for Ontario provincial riding of Thornhill, Peter Shurman, expressed disgust at the accusation of 'Canadian Apartheid.' "Idiots" was how he described the Israeli Apartheid Week organizers, adding "and you can quote me on that!"
Mr. Shurman, who last year was a co-sponsor of a unanimously adopted motion in the Ontario Legislature denouncing Israeli Apartheid Week, continued: "Canada and Israel have shared democratic values. Neither country is perfect, just as no country in the world is, and people of good conscience are working to improve conditions in democratic countries every day. But to describe these two countries that place democracy as their highest value as 'apartheid' is beyond absurd. Apartheid describes a racist legal system of enforced racial separation and discrimination that existed in South Africa until 1993. No rational person could possibly say that ‘apartheid’ in any way describes either Canada or Israel in 2011. These fanatics have revealed themselves to be not just bigoted against Israel but opposed to basic Canadian democratic values too."
'Canadian Apartheid' proponent Alan Sears, a Sociology professor at Ryerson University, provided some revealing insight in a recent interview where he suggested the movement to delegitimize Israel is the first step in a broader campaign to combat capitalism. He said he supports "targeting..capitalism at (its) deepest..the question is how do we get there?.. The way that struggles begin to start is with specific targets that are achievable and then ..the movement can get broader."
As a champion of Canada's relationship with Israel, Environment Minister Kent's constituency office has been the target of demonstrations by anti-Israel groups. He has praise for the people who are working towards peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but was adamant that groups and individuals seeking to falsely label Israel as an apartheid state do not fall into that category.
Of the latter, Mr. Kent's condemnation was unequivocal, "They're making absolutely no contribution to the peace process in the mid-east and are clearly operating on a selective, hateful agenda; peace between Israel and the Palestinians is obviously not on that agenda."
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Peto's hate thesis: Let's not lose sight of the real issue
An error-riddled, poorly researched, polemical essay that maligns the Canadian Jewish community and accuses Holocaust education programs of being racist has received a lot of focus in the last three weeks.
It first came to national attention in a post in this blog, which was picked up by The National Post and the thesis itself received even more attention when it was the subject of a print article in yesterday's Toronto Star.
The subject of the controversy is a thesis written by an anti-Israel activist named Jenny Peto. Titled, “The Victimhood of the Powerful: White Jews, Zionism and the Racism of Hegemonic Holocaust Education.” it makes bizarre, unsubstantiated allegations of Holocaust education programs being designed to perpetuate racism ["They are taught on the MOL that their whiteness can only be maintained through racism, both in supporting Israel and also perpetuating or, at minimum, benefiting from racism and imperialism in their home countries."] and of the Jewish community in general being racists who benefit from "white privilege." ["a mainstream Jewish community that is dominated by racist and Zionist ideologies" ].
The thesis itself has been described by prominent academics as being "devoid of scholarship" and "full of untruths and distortions and held together by fatuous and very flabby analysis. It borders on anti-Semitism."
Today The Toronto Star reported that the thesis was condemned in the Ontario legislature by Citizenship and Immigration minister Eric Hoskins who, echoing statements by Conservative MPP Steve Clark, said he was "disgusted" by the thesis, and by MPP Peter Shurman, who described it as a hateful, poorly researched “piece of garbage.”
While these are apt descriptions of Peto's work, University of Toronto Provost Cheryl Misak makes a valid point, while ignoring the most relevant aspect of this matter, when she commented to The Star that she is “a little alarmed at the kinds of things being said about a piece of student work... It would be a good idea for us all to remember that it’s a student paper.”
In that, Ms Misak is correct. Ms Peto is a person of no real consequence whose writing suggests a less-than formidable intellect. But the issue at hand is how the Sociology and Equity Studies in Education program of the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education (OISE) at U of T approved of and accepted a thesis of such questionable academic validity and substandard scholarship.
The outstanding issue is not about an individual, but of how teaching is conducted in certain departments at OISE. While OISE is a world-leader in early childhood education studies, programs like their Sociology and Equity Studies appear to have become so biased and politicized that scholarship may have become secondary to ideology. And in that, ideology of a single perspective.
Julia O'Sullivan is the new dean at OISE and so is not responsible for the situation there up until now. How she deals with what is occurring will be critical in determining the future of the validity of education at OISE.
It first came to national attention in a post in this blog, which was picked up by The National Post and the thesis itself received even more attention when it was the subject of a print article in yesterday's Toronto Star.
The subject of the controversy is a thesis written by an anti-Israel activist named Jenny Peto. Titled, “The Victimhood of the Powerful: White Jews, Zionism and the Racism of Hegemonic Holocaust Education.” it makes bizarre, unsubstantiated allegations of Holocaust education programs being designed to perpetuate racism ["They are taught on the MOL that their whiteness can only be maintained through racism, both in supporting Israel and also perpetuating or, at minimum, benefiting from racism and imperialism in their home countries."] and of the Jewish community in general being racists who benefit from "white privilege." ["a mainstream Jewish community that is dominated by racist and Zionist ideologies" ].
The thesis itself has been described by prominent academics as being "devoid of scholarship" and "full of untruths and distortions and held together by fatuous and very flabby analysis. It borders on anti-Semitism."
Today The Toronto Star reported that the thesis was condemned in the Ontario legislature by Citizenship and Immigration minister Eric Hoskins who, echoing statements by Conservative MPP Steve Clark, said he was "disgusted" by the thesis, and by MPP Peter Shurman, who described it as a hateful, poorly researched “piece of garbage.”
While these are apt descriptions of Peto's work, University of Toronto Provost Cheryl Misak makes a valid point, while ignoring the most relevant aspect of this matter, when she commented to The Star that she is “a little alarmed at the kinds of things being said about a piece of student work... It would be a good idea for us all to remember that it’s a student paper.”
In that, Ms Misak is correct. Ms Peto is a person of no real consequence whose writing suggests a less-than formidable intellect. But the issue at hand is how the Sociology and Equity Studies in Education program of the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education (OISE) at U of T approved of and accepted a thesis of such questionable academic validity and substandard scholarship.
The outstanding issue is not about an individual, but of how teaching is conducted in certain departments at OISE. While OISE is a world-leader in early childhood education studies, programs like their Sociology and Equity Studies appear to have become so biased and politicized that scholarship may have become secondary to ideology. And in that, ideology of a single perspective.
Julia O'Sullivan is the new dean at OISE and so is not responsible for the situation there up until now. How she deals with what is occurring will be critical in determining the future of the validity of education at OISE.
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